Tuesday 27 August 2019

Glyndwr's Way : 1

Ruined Bryntail Lead Mine, with the Clywedog Dam on the River Severn behind.
Still in the UK, in what passes for summer in these benighted islands, it seems like a good idea to do another of the National Trails.  I settle on Glyndwr's Way, in mid Wales, finishing in Welshpool this will be handy for a festival I'm going to in nearby Shrewsbury.  I can't say this is a part of the world I'm that familiar with, so, nice to see somewhere new.

Starting from Knighton in Herefordshire, the route heads west through lovely countryside, rolling hills and valleys, and easy enough going, the trail seems to mostly be accessible to horses so not too steep.  I do meet one horse rider, and just a few walkers, several say I am the only hiker they've seen, this is not a busy trail.  Often there is no sign of a walked path across the sheep-filled fields, but there are plenty of signs, with that and my GPS I stay on track.

A representative shot of me, with Welsh countryside, light rain and sheep.
This doesn't seem a very well populated part of the world either...  Not exactly wilderness, above a certain height the fields give way to moorland, still with plenty of sheep, but most of this country is farmland, with little in the way of towns or villages.  I do enjoy a beer and burger in Llanidloes, no campsite though, in fact I camp wild my first four nights in Wales.  At least on the fourth night I have a couple of cans of beer from the second place on the Way with actual shops, Machynlleth.  More or less half way along the route, this is where Welsh hero Owain Glyndwr, for whom the Way is named, held his parliament as he briefly ruled an independent Wales at the turn of the fifteenth century.

Site of Owain Glydwr's parliament in Machynlleth.
Photos to go with this post can be found here.

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